Noticed a weird trend at the Ritchie Market last Thursday

I was grabbing coffee at The Nook and saw three different people trying to pitch their business ideas to strangers sitting alone. One guy even handed a laminated card to a woman reading a book. Has anyone else noticed people doing cold pitches at local spots around Edmonton, or did I just hit a weird day?

3 comments

3 Comments

dakota_patel981mo ago

Oh man, that's such an Edmonton thing lately! I've had this happen to me twice at Remedy Cafe in the last month. My advice is to just look busy or wear headphones even if you're not listening to anything. If someone does hand you a card, just say "not interested" with a quick smile and go right back to what you were doing. Don't feel bad about being direct, these people are counting on you being polite.

mark_price27d ago

Is getting handed a flyer really worth all this social combat training though?

emery1991mo ago

Yeah, the "they count on you being polite" part is the key. It's totally a numbers game with those people. They're trained to just keep talking past your polite "no thanks" because they know most folks would rather listen to a whole pitch than be rude. That's why you gotta skip the polite part and go straight to the short, firm version. I've started just shaking my head and saying "nope" without even slowing down my walk or looking up from my phone. Feels weird at first but it works way better than being nice. The more awkward you make it for them, the quicker they move on to the next table. They're looking for someone who hesitates, so don't give them that opening.